More Than One in Five Floridians Seriously Considering Moving Out of State

Despite the fact the rest of the country has recently been a veritable snow hell while Florida has remained largely frost free, a new poll finds that more than one out of every five Floridians is thinking about moving out of state. That's probably because almost two-thirds of Floridians think the State is in much worse shape than it was five years ago, and very few think things are going to get better any time soon.

The poll of 1,220 Floridians comes courtesy of Leadership Florida and was conducted by The Nielson Company.

The most shocking finding is that "63% of respondents say the state is worse off than five years ago while 65% say things will stay the same or get worse." That's probably why 21 percent of Floridians are seriously considering moving out of the Sunshine State. 31 percent of those mulling a move cite lack of jobs and economic opportunities as the main reason for moving, while another 15 percent cite the cost of living.

While Floridians seem to have more divided opinions on the performance of the Federal and State governments, it seems that their optimism about the performance of the Federal Government has increased since 2008 when President Obama took office, while their optimism about state government has shrunk.

Twenty-six percent say the Federals government is doing an "excellent" or "fair" job, compared to 20 percent in 2008. 23 percent say the State government is doing an "excellent" or "fair" job, compared to 30 percent who said the same in 2008. Though, today 39 percent say the Feds are doing a "poor" job compared to just 25 percent who say the same of the State gov.

Fifty-five percent of Floridians say Florida's state government is doing a poor job of creating jobs, and 42 percent say it's doing a poor job of managing the state's finances.

Though, that impression of Florida is based largely on the state Charlie Crist left behind after his four years in office. The survey doesn't ask directly about Rick Scott, but 52 percent of Floridians agree with him that the economy, along with jobs, is the biggest issue facing Florida. Only two percent agree that immigration reform, Scott's other campaign focus, is a top priority.